Issue: 11/26/01

Al-Qaeda Across The Americas By Martin Edwin Andersen

Radical Muslim terrorist groups have established bases in Latin America and the Caribbean and are poised to direct their jihad at U.S. businesses, military personnel and civilians throughout the region, security experts and intelligence sources tell Insight. These fundamentalists also may be positioned to stage more attacks against the U.S. mainland like those of Sept. 11.

Of particular concern is the possibility that terrorist "sleepers" already have used lax immigration procedures in countries such as Argentina to launder their identities and slip undetected into the United States. U.S. authorities in Buenos Aires frantically are trying to ascertain the whereabouts of tens of thousands of Argentines who entered the United States under a visa-waiver program instituted by Bill Clinton at the insistence of Argentina's then-president Carlos Menem. As former CIA director James Woolsey tells Insight: "I certainly wouldn't put it past al-Qaeda to use Latin America as a route to place its assets in the United States."

Some 6 million people of Muslim descent live in Latin America. Brazil plays host to more than one-fourth of that number; 700,000 live in Argentina, which also is home to the region's largest Jewish population; and there are strong faith-based Muslim communities in Venezuela, Colombia, Paraguay, Chile, Peru, Honduras and Bolivia. While practicing a different religion in a largely Roman Catholic bastion, Muslims have lived for generations in the region, with the majority tracing their roots to Syria and Lebanon. Recent immigration and a reawakening by Latin Muslims to their faith also has created links to radical Islamic groups.

Antiterrorism experts say extremist cells tied to Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network are operating in Argentina, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Uruguay. Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez — whose inner circle includes nationalist military officers who fulminate against a purported "Zionist-NATO" conspiracy — has embraced Saddam Hussein and Muammar Qaddafi in recent visits to Iraq and Libya.

Qaddafi historically has maintained close ties both to the far left and the far right in the region and is known to have established networks throughout the Caribbean, Suriname, Guyana and the West Indies. Bin Laden's rise to fame has allowed him to take over some of those organizations, experts say. In September, officials from Dominica, Grenada and St. Vincent traveled to Tripoli and reported promises for more than $21 million in loans, debt relief and grants. Senior Nicaraguan officials have accused Qaddafi of providing funds for the campaign of Sandinista presidential candidate Daniel Ortega, who visited him earlier this year, in the Nov. 4 election.

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, the Organization of American States passed a resolution offering security cooperation in support of the United States. But regional realities are sobering. Budgetary and manpower constraints have meant that virtually all the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean — Cuba, with an extensive internal and external intelligence network, is the exception — appear unprepared to deal with the Islamic-terrorist challenge. Police and intelligence agencies are underfunded and their members undertrained and underequipped.

The sorry state of Latin American police and security forces, says Miguel Diaz, a former CIA official and director of the South America Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank, "makes it almost indispensable for the region's governments to work with the United States. None of the countries of Latin America have any foreign-intelligence expertise except for Cuba — so really they are starting from scratch."

One of the most vexing problems, security officials say, is the so-called "Triple Frontier" border area shared by Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, long a cauldron of multibillion-dollar illegal enterprises such as drug smuggling, money laundering and international weapons trafficking. More than a half-million people live in the area, including 23,000 of Lebanese descent. In early October, Francis Taylor, director of the State Department's Office of Counterterrorism, warned that Islamic extremist organizations, including Hezbollah and Hamas, were both fund raising and proselytizing there. Other U.S. sources say local Muslims also provide a haven for extensive money-laundering operations for extremist groups, with much of the funds repatriated to Lebanon.

Since Sept. 11, the Triple Frontier has come to resemble Casablanca during World War II, with local intelligence and law-enforcement agencies being joined by a number of U.S. counterparts, as well as Israel's Mossad and the German and Spanish secret services. Both Brazil and Argentina have stepped up surveillance efforts in the area, with support from the FBI and the CIA. Paraguay, too, has promised to help, but rampant corruption within its security services and ongoing political turmoil makes its real contribution negligible, analysts say.

Another source of concern is Chavez. On Nov. 1, the Bush administration recalled U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela Donna Hrinak after Chavez held up pictures of dead Afghan children on Venezuelan TV, describing it as a "slaughter of innocents." U.S. intelligence sources say they believe Chavez has been lending support to Colombia's left-wing guerrilla insurgency. Chavez counts among his international followers nationalist military men of various ideological persuasions, including Argentine "Painted Faces" officers loyal to Mohammed Ali Seineldin, a former colonel who worked as an adviser to Panama's one-time dictator, Manuel Noriega.

Two years ago, Chavez sparked a controversy when he sent a letter addressed "Dear compatriot" to Venezuelan-born revolutionary Carlos the Jackal, whose real name is Illich Ramirez Sanchez. Carlos, once hunted by Western security services as one of the world's most wanted terrorist masterminds, is serving a life sentence in France for the 1975 murder of two French secret agents.

In early October, during a visit to Paris, Chavez provoked another firestorm of criticism by suggesting that Carlos' human rights were not being respected. Several senior Venezuelan officials added fuel to the fire by appearing to question whether Carlos — believed to be responsible for some 80 killings carried out in support of Palestinian and other revolutionary causes — was a terrorist. In an interview with El Universal, a Caracas newspaper, Carlos said he supported bin Laden's "revolutionary, anti-imperialist" war and felt "solidarity" toward Chavez' self-styled "Bolivarian revolution."

In the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, a radical Islamic organization, Jamaat-al-Muslimeen, has come under increased scrutiny. On Sept. 19, a man with ties to the Trinidadian organization believed to be linked to bin Laden pleaded guilty in a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., federal court to unlawful possession of a machine gun. Federal officials say that Keith Andre Gaude, who was detained in a U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) sting operation, came to Florida to buy as many as 60 AK-47 assault rifles and 10 MAC-10 submachine guns with silencers.

In 1990, Jamaat-al-Muslimeen staged a coup attempt in Port-of-Spain. The prime minister and eight Cabinet members were held hostage for four days, and 23 people died in bombings at the police headquarters, the state TV station and the Parliament building.

In Buenos Aires, U.S. officials anxiously are trying to establish the whereabouts of those tens of thousands of Argentines who entered the U.S. under the visa-waiver program, but for whom there is no documentation of their having returned to Argentina. During the Cold War, Argentina was an important way station for Eastern Bloc agents, particularly East Germans, who sought to change their identities as they made their way to the United States. They did so by acquiring the birth certificates of dead Argentines, a retired FBI counterintelligence specialist tells Insight.

The visa-waiver program instituted in the mid-1990s made a valid passport all that was required for travel to the United States. Senior U.S. law-enforcement officials say that, under Menem, "a lot of people made big bucks" by procuring phony passports through the Argentine Federal Police. U.S. sources in Buenos Aires say they are concerned about a number of fraudulent passports that have been traced to repeated trips from the Middle East to Miami and New York via Buenos Aires.

Menem, currently under house arrest outside of Buenos Aires for his alleged role in an international arms-smuggling ring, has had an ambiguous relationship with Iran, Syria and Libya. In 1986, following the U.S. bombing of Tripoli in retaliation for Libyan-sponsored terrorist attacks against U.S. targets in Europe, then-provincial governor Menem called for the expulsion of Frank Ortiz, the U.S. envoy to Buenos Aires. His 1989 heterodox presidential campaign, supported by Seineldin and former left-wing guerrillas close to Middle Eastern terrorist organizations, reportedly received millions of dollars from Qaddafi.

During his 10 years in office Menem, whose parents migrated to Argentina from Syria, presided over the rehiring of military and police officials with neo-Nazi sympathies to the country's security forces and intelligence services, say his critics. Menem also picked a Syrian-army colonel who barely spoke Spanish to be customs overseer at Buenos Aires' Ezeiza International Airport — a major hub for smuggling in South America.

Following the Sept. 11 attacks, the trial of several Argentine policemen accused of complicity with a 1994 bombing by Islamic terrorists against a Jewish community center began in Buenos Aires. The attack left 85 people dead. It came just two years after the Israeli embassy in Argentina also was leveled. In September 2001, Argentina's law-enforcement minister, Ramon Mestre, linked the attacks to Menem's "promises to the Muslim world, which he did not honor."

One senior U.S. law-enforcement source familiar with the investigation of the community-center bombing called the trial a joke, adding: "Those in the know understand that complicity for the attack reaches pretty high up into Menem's inner circle."

Martin Edwin Andersen, a senior research analyst for Freedom House, is author of a 450-page history of the Argentine police to be published next March in Buenos Aires.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2001

Answers

>Of particular concern is the possibility that terrorist "sleepers" already have used lax immigration procedures in countries such as Argentina to launder their identities and slip undetected into the United States.

I'll admit that the FBI's first general warning left me a tad skeptical, but it's writings like this (not just this post) that have made me into more of a believer. And it's not just radical Moslem agents that have slipped in! We have other enemies that are willing to take advantage of our weaknesses should another incident start.

I no longer have a problem with the 2nd warning, even though it was also vague.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2001

Over on tb2k it seems that several have retreated to their place of safety. I guess I haven't read anything that would make me retreat like that, but I also haven't read a lot of the posts over there lately. What I am reading here has me concerned and thinking I will finish stockpiling (oops read "prepping") this coming week or two if the money holds out.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2001

Beckie, I've read those threads, too. I'm unable to get worked up over anyone bugging out right now. That's not to say that I think they're being silly -- no! -- but I haven't seen anything I would consider a specific, credible threat, although I've heard plenty of rumors.

I still believe that I, personally, am in much greater danger from a deep recession than anthrax or other related problem.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2001

Evening everyone!

Meemur, here's an article that may help to give a little perspective on the issue. I hate to post articles relating to poll data, but the interview narratives are worth the read, imo...

(And from the looks of it, expect things to go to "hell-in-a- handbasket" right after Ramadan starts.)

http://www.sunday- times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2001/11/04/stiusausa01022.html

THE VOICE OF BRITISH MUSLIMS: Divided loyalties on the home front ONE in 10 British Muslims questioned by The Sunday Times believes Osama Bin Laden was justified in launching terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11. The finding, which will alarm the government and moderate Muslim leaders, comes from the first big survey among Britain's 2m Muslims since the start of the bombing campaign against Afghanistan.

The Sunday Times survey shows that while 11% think there was justification for the attacks, as many as four out of 10 Muslims believe Bin Laden had reason to mount a war against the United States.

A similar proportion, 40%, believe that Britons who decide to fight alongside the Taliban are justified. Fewer than one in six believe America was right to bomb Afghanistan after the terror attacks. This weekend, a month after the start of the bombing, 96% believe America should stop its aerial assault.

The Muslim community says it will be particularly incensed if bombing continues after the start of the Ramadan religious festival on November 17.

Abdul Mohammed, 29, an IT consultant from Derby, said: "It would be very emotional to bomb during Ramadan. The feelings would run higher in Muslim countries such as Pakistan.

"Osama's actions are wrong but his grievances are justified," said Bashir Maan, a Glasgow city councillor. "What has the US done for Palestine in the past 15 years? What kind of democracy responds with bullets when stones are thrown at them?"

The Sunday Times interviewed 1,170 Muslims at random in cities across Britain, including London, Birmingham, Leicester, Bradford and Manchester on Friday.

Outside the mosque in Regent's Park, Abdul Riaz, 25, said: "The killings in America were terrible. That should not happen. But it will not help the world to kill more people in Afghanistan."

More than seven out of 10 believe Tony Blair is wrong to support America in its war against Bin Laden and the Taliban. Asked if they believed efforts to capture or kill Bin Laden were justified, only 36% said "yes", compared with 61% who said "no".

More than 1,000 of those surveyed said they believed the bombing campaign in Afghanistan would lead to worsening relations in Britain between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Muslim leaders said they were surprised by the depth of feeling shown in the poll findings. Sahib Mustaqim Bleher, general secretary of the Islamic Party of Great Britain, said: "The 11% who think there was justification for the terror attacks troubles me. My reading is that there are people who would say America had it coming to them.

"But those who said it was right to attack the World Trade Center must be a small fringe. There will be people who are happy that the prowess of America has been dented, but that is different from accepting the loss of human life, which included many Muslims, in New York."

Dr Zaki Badawi, chairman of the Imams and Mosques Council of the United Kingdom, said: "I doubt that this is an accurate reflection of the Muslim community in Britain. The sample may not have reflected the diversity of the community, but I accept there is a tremendous feeling of hostility to the United States because of its actions in the Middle East.

"The US is supporting Israel's breach of the United Nations resolutions over the occupation of Palestinian land. I believe that the results of the survey demonstrate a natural sympathy which the British show for the underdog and the results should be looked at in that light."

Umar Hegedus, the former Thought for the Day presenter on Radio 4 who heads the Islamic charity Amama (Trust), said the results might have been different and less extreme if people had been interviewed in their homes.

But Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, the leader of the Muslim parliament, said: "Muslims feel that the catastrophic humanitarian disasters of the Middle East are the responsibility of the United States. They are reflecting their deep hostilities to America."

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2001

Good post, Deb.

Bt I still think that the threat of a recession is more of a reality for Central Ohio than nuke attacks, small pox, or other related nasties.

Consider this area from a military point of view. Next, consider that infecting the area with small pox will also take out a fair number of Moslems (more in Toledo than here). Then, consider the population numbers here vs. those of NYC and LA. Lastly, consider our history: Ohio is, historically, "Gateway to the West," hardly an American cultural icon, as the museums on the east coast are.

This is not to say that there might not be some nonsense: Columbus is the capital, and there are some reasons that folks don't like Battelle or Rickenbacker.

But, overall, if a terrorist group has limited resources, this is not a major area to target, in my not-so-humble opinion. (;

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2001

Hey there, Meemur!

Well, I didn't mean to convey that Columbus would be ground zero - sorry if that's how it came across. (I agree though, economic uncertainty is highly probable for the Columbus area. How deep the impact will be, I do not know at this time...)

Anyway, as to terrorism: Personally, I think we're going to see more nation-wide civil unrest, perpetrated by Islamic practicioners. All of them - no, but a sizeable number of them, if the poll data is anywhere near accurate.

The ultimate goal for many seems to be a *desire* for martyrdom - a completely alien ideology to us. The extremists consider neutral Muslims to be infidels too - take Bin Laden's most recent tape as an example of that. (He declared than any Muslim that was assisting the West in the war against Afghanistan would be declared an infidel and deserving of death.) In that case, the extremists wouldn't care how many neutral Muslims were killed, to them it would be a win-win situation (martyrdom of a "Muslim victim" or death of an enemy).

In essence, just because Columbus isn't likely to be ground zero doesn't change the fact that we could likely feel the ripple effects of an attack launched elsewhere.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2001

Personally if I was a terrorist I would now hit a small town in the midwest very hard. What do they want to do? Keep us all afraid and hunkered down. How best to do it..........make it seem like absolutely NO PLACE is safe. We keep our preps current and ready at all times and we live in Michigan in a small town.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2001

>the extremists wouldn't care how many neutral Muslims were killed

Good point, Deb. The only saving grace is the other side of the coin: I'm sure the neutral Muslims have opinions about living!

Diane, I agree with you in terms of strategy, but again, I'm forced to look at how these young terrorists like to die in fireballs. While hitting somewhere like Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo would be extremely horrific, it wouldn't be nearly as glorous to that mindset as taking out the Golden Gate Bridge, Sears Tower, or a nuke plant.

As always, I researve the right to be wrong!

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2001

Isn't it difficult to second-guess the terrorists? (Understatement of the year!) They've shown they don't mind taking out small targets, although it stands to reason they prefer the biggest bang for their buck. They don't care if any of their victims are Muslim (there were some in the WTC and some of the hijackers were unaware they were going to die). Oddly enough, whether their target is a large building or a single car, apparently the reward in Paradise is the same. That doesn't seem fair, does it?

The point about attacking a small town in the heartland is a very good one; after all, the point of terrorism is terror.

All that said, however, with the terrorists having tasted the sweetness of success of a large enterprise, they may direct their suiciders to "think big."

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2001

Osama's actions are wrong but his grievances are justified," said Bashir Maan, a Glasgow city councillor. "What has the US done for Palestine in the past 15 years? What kind of democracy responds with bullets when stones are thrown at them?"

If he is referring to the planes as stones and our missiles as bullets, I say let's launch one of our bullets into his shorts. Maybe we can shake some stones loose in his head. those stones had people in them.

Our targets have been military. Always military. Taliban started hiding stuff near civilians thinking we wouldn't hit it. We did. The people of Afghanistan have by now realized that we are bombing their country. They should start thinking about maybe getting out. If this hasn't occurred to them yet, well, you buys your ticket and tries your luck. We haven't intentionally hit any buildings to kill 5000 civilians to make a point. Nope, not us.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2001